“Better me than Killer,” he said, heading over to the closet and peering down into the opening. He pointed at the floor, looking back at Cooper. “Did you drop a flashlight down in there?”
“Nope. It’s been lit up like that since the door opened.”
Cooper and I had contemplated checking out what was lighting up the crawlspace while we waited for Cornelius and Doc, but I’d voted not to touch the crime scene until everyone was here, and he’d agreed to wait. Those old, cobwebby wooden steps leading down into the basement were nightmare fodder for me, offering an opportunity for something to grab my ankles on the way down.
“Hey, Natalie.” Doc unbuttoned his coat. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“That makes two of us,” Cooper said, not looking happy about her being there with us. He was too overprotective for his own good when it came to Natalie. “You should go home, Nat. Shit could go sideways here. It usually does when Parker’s within a five-mile radius.”
I held up my hand and wound up my middle finger, flipping him off.
Natalie dug in her heels, literally leaning back on them while she jutted her chin at Cooper. “I’m staying. My girl needs me.”
His mouth thinned. “Screw Parker. I need you to still be breathing later.”
I harrumphed. “What you need, Cooper, is a good hard kick in the—”
“Violet,” Doc interrupted me. He tossed his coat down next to me on the desk, and then bent over to give me a quick “hello” kiss with cool lips. He smelled fresh, like a forest, making me want to roll around in some pine needles with him. “Be nice to Coop, Tiger,” Doc said under his breath. “He’s been working for almost fifteen hours.”
“I was being nice,” I whispered. I wondered where Doc had been all afternoon, but didn’t bother asking him now. He was wearing the same shirt and pants he’d had on earlier, but his hair looked finger-plowed. Or maybe that was from the wind. “I was going to say ‘caboose,’ not ass.”
“ ‘Caboose’ is the same thing,” Cooper said, eavesdropping. “And don’t forget that I saved your ass today … again. You owe it to me to be nice now.”
“Saved her from what?” Natalie asked him.
“What’s with the tequila in the bag?” he shot back, dodging her question.
“It’s for celebrating.” Natalie poked him in the chest. “Saved Vi from what, Coop?”
“What are you celebrating?” Doc asked, returning to Cornelius. “Is that new?” He pointed at the ghost-ometer.
Cooper took the bag from Natalie, pulling out a full bottle of tequila. “You forgot the limes and salt.”
She grabbed the bottle back and brought it over to me. “You don’t need accessories if it’s good tequila, right, Vi?”
I gave two thumbs-up and then took the bottle, palming it while I scanned the label. Ah, she’d splurged on the good stuff. “You know the ol’ saying.” I winked at her.
She grinned, holding up her pointer finger in the air like she was standing on a podium about to deliver a grand speech. “All things in the universe are possible so long as you have enough tequila to finish the job.”
“Hear, hear!” I raised the bottle in agreement.
“It’s my Eddy,” Cornelius told Doc, handing his ghost detector to him. “There’s been steady activity, but mostly in the hallway.” He tightened the belt on his bathrobe while looking at Natalie and me. “Celebrate what? Did you have a premonition about the open closet door?”
“No.” Natalie hopped up on the desk next to me.
What was an ‘Eddy’? Was that a nickname for his newest expensive toy? Whatever it was, Doc was following in Cornelius’s previous footsteps, holding the device out and observing the digital display as he stepped out into the hallway.
Meanwhile, Cooper watched Natalie like she had crucial evidence hidden somewhere on her body. “Celebrate what?”
Natalie squirmed a little but met his gaze. “You know, the usual stuff—the kids’ good grades, Zoe’s big glass order, Vi’s upcoming television debut, Doc’s success in the finance wo—”
“I know about the flowers,” Cooper cut in.
She shot me a scowl. “Bucket mouth.”
I held up my hands. Once again, I was innocent. Well, mostly. “It’s not my fault. Cooper came over earlier to rescue me from Rex.”
My ex’s name snared Doc’s attention. He frowned at me over the top of the “Eddy” gadget. “What’s this about Rex?”
“It’s nothing,” I said, not really wanting to discuss that particular devil’s doings at the moment. Rex blaming me for his hives seemed like small potatoes next to the Hellhole issue … and the caper-sus crap.
Doc came closer, holding up the device in front of me. “According to this, you’re lying.”
I smirked. “Good try, Oracle, but that thing measures electromagnetic field variations, not my blood pressure and pulse spikes.” At least that was my guess on what the detector did.
He handed the “Eddy” back to Cornelius while staring at me. “It’s sexy when you bandy about paranormal terms like that, Tish.”
“Oh, God,” Cooper groaned. “Don’t you dare speak French to him, Parker.”
Before I could switch into Morticia Addams mode, Cooper spilled the beans about Rex’s visit, the bastard’s reaction to the flowers, and Cooper’s arrival in time to save the day and send Rex on his way.
I harrumphed. “You didn’t save the day.”
“What are you talking about, Parker? When I walked in you had a stapler in your hand, cocked and ready to throw.”
“I wasn’t going to throw it,” I grumbled. I’d just planned to beat the jerk over the head with it until he scampered away with his tail between his legs.
“Shit.” Natalie sighed. “I didn’t expect Rex to show up here and give you trouble, babe.”
“What did you think would happen?” Cooper asked.
She shrugged. “That he’d break out in hives and be miserable for a day or two like the last time.”
Last time? She’d done that to Rex before? I loved her twice as much now. I patted her leg. “You were successful. If we’re lucky, he’ll be miserable all
